Bombed, But Not Beaten: Lessons from Mumbai

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The Indian response to Tuesday's devastating bombings in Mumbai (see Bill Roggio's coverage) bears noting as an example for other countries. There were at least two purposes behind the attacks: crippling the Indian economy and stoking Hindu-Muslim tensions. It appears that the terrorists failed to achieve either goal, as Mumbai's citizens displayed remarkable resolve.

One particularly noteworthy aspect of their response is the self-help that could be seen in the wake of the bombings. Mumbai's governance is a complete disaster, as Bloomberg News columnist Andy Mukherjee explains. There is very little accountability at top levels of government, as tenured bureaucrats are given the bulk of the responsibilities. The mayor isn't directly elected by voters and lacks executive authority. To make matters worse, Mukherjee notes that "the July 11 blasts occurred on trains and stations that are under the jurisdiction of the Railway Ministry, controlled by the federal government in New Delhi."

But Mumbai's citizens turned to intensive self-help efforts in response to the attacks. Mukherjee writes:

One group, mostly the residents of shantytowns along the railway tracks, carried the dead and the injured out of the train carriages, using bed sheets as body bags and stretchers. Another set of people stopped taxis and auto-rickshaws and ordered them to take the survivors to hospital. A third group was at the hospitals, administering all the first aid it could, before the doctors could take over. And all of this happened as rain pounded down. At one of the explosion sites, the local rescue workers pressed a television crew, which had arrived before the police, into helping victims. The filming had to wait.

It isn't uncommon for disasters to force Mumbai's citizens to resort to self-help. Shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Mumbai was flooded by heavy monsoon rains, the city's ancient drains and sewers collapsed, and at least 435 died. In its June 26 cover story on India's economic rise, Time Magazine noted citizens' response to these floods: "[R]escue workers were nowhere to be seen, but shanty dwellers sheltered businessmen, slum children rescued film stars, and untouchables saved holy men." (It is interesting that the assistance of shantytown residents figured so prominently in both quoted articles.)

Another noteworthy aspect of the Indian response is the economic rally that occurred on Wednesday. The Bombay Stock Exchange rose three percent, finishing at its highest mark in almost two months. This is the product of determination. As Prime Minster Manmohan Singh said, "The wheels of our economy will move on. . . . India will continue to walk tall and with confidence."

Terrorists would similarly love to deal a blow to the U.S. economy. And if another terrorist attack succeeds -- if, for example, they hit our mass transit system as they have done now in Mumbai, London and Madrid -- we will do well to remember how India responded to Tuesday's attacks.

UPDATE, JULY 13, 2006, 1:08 P.M.: For another take on lessons to be learned from Mumbai, see an interesting analysis, "Terrorist Tentacles in India," by Wilson John of the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation. Also see this discussion of Wilson John's analysis from Chad Evans at In the Bullpen.

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